


A Perfect Cup for Coffee

by BritHistorian



Category: Firefly
Genre: Coffee, Crafts, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 17:10:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9133438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BritHistorian/pseuds/BritHistorian
Summary: Written for LJ-user curi_o's 21st birthday challenge:  Prompt: #19 - break/make/takeXiong mao niao = Panda urine.Obligatory Ceramics Geek Note: Yes, I'm aware you can't fire ceramics in an autoclave. I'm making the assumption that you can use a Firefly-era autoclave to fire engine-repair mud, because that's what needs to be done for this story to work. :-P





	

"Gorramit! Who broke my gorram coffee mug?" Jayne stormed around Serenity's small kitchen, waving around the pieces of the object in question.  
  
"Plenty more mugs in the cabinet," Kaylee said, sitting down at the table and adding a heaping spoonful of sugar to her coffee.  
  
"Not the point! I'd had that mug for years. It was the perfect gorram coffee mug!" After a last regretful look at what had just the day before been his favorite coffee mug, Jayne threw the shattered mug into the wastebin.  
  
Kaylee tasted her coffee, made a face, and started adding more sugar. "Ugh! I can tell Simon made the coffee today. I keep telling him 'This is isn't a hospital, the coffee doesn't have to be strong enough to keep you up for 24 hours.' Even you're gonna want sugar today."  
  
"Don't even want coffee now." And Jayne stormed out of the room and down to the hold.  
  
No sooner had he left than River crept into the kitchen, poured herself a cup of coffee, and sat down across from Kaylee. "Why doesn't Jayne want coffee? He always drinks coffee. 'No milk, no sugar. Just coffee.'"  
  
Kaylee laughed at River's impression of the mercenary. "You heard him, did you? I'm surprised the whole ship didn't hear the way he was carrying on." Kaylee rolled her eyes. "Apparently Jayne's _special coffee mug_ got broken, and now nothing's right in the 'verse."  
  
River's face fell. "She should apologize to him. She didn't mean to break his cup." She started to get up, but Kaylee grabbed her arm and stopped her.  
  
"Not right now you don't. Mood he's in, he's likely to snap you in half over that stupid mug. Wait a while. Maybe later you'll come up with a way you can make it up to him and he won't ever have to know it was you broke his mug. Besides," Kaylee's eyes sparkled as she smiled, "it'll do him good to be frustrated for a while, much as he frustrates the rest of us."  
  
River nodded and stared into her cup, looking not at all certain about the wisdom of Kaylee's plans. "She didn't mean to drop it. She was just holding it, because when she holds it, she can _feel_ him."  
  
Kaylee was silent for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. While everyone on the ship except Simon and Jayne knew that River had set her sights on Jayne, it didn't necessarily mean that most of them approved of the match. Deciding that a change of subject and a retreat to the engine room was the best thing, Kaylee got up to leave. "Well, I've got to go make some adjustments to the engines. You just think about what I said."  
  
River watched Kaylee go, then sat listening to Serenity. There was nothing wrong with the engines.  
  


* * *

  
Late that night, so late as to pretty much be the next morning, River sat in her bunk waiting for the autoclave to heat up. She'd taken it from the sickbay while Simon was visiting Kaylee in the engine room. Even if the sound of the engine did cover their noises, it did nothing to block their thoughts. River tried to not listen, but they were so loud she couldn't help it. Just remembering it made her blush. At any rate, she didn't think Kaylee had any place to disapprove of River's plans for Jayne, not when Kaylee was planning - and sometimes _doing_ (another blush) - those same things with Simon.  
  
The indicator light went on to let her know that the autoclave was ready. She loaded the new mug she'd made into the sterilization chamber, then turned out the light and climbed into bed. By the time she awoke (she never needed an alarm, but woke up at precisely the same time every day - Simon said this was something they'd done at the Institute, because as a little girl she had always loved to sleep in), the engine repair mud she'd made the mug out of would have hardened and Jayne would have a new, unbreakable mug, custom-made to fit him. She lay awake for a few minutes and started planning how she was going to get the autoclave back to sickbay before Simon noticed it was gone. She'd also have to return Jayne's right glove, which she'd taken to be sure the mug's handle would be a perfect fit for his hand, and Kaylee's calipers, which she'd used to measure his mouth as he slept (she was in his bunk anyway, to steal the glove, and she was remarkably quiet) to be sure the rim of the mug was a perfect fit for his mouth. Experimentally, she held the calipers up against her mouth. Yes, a perfect fit. She put the calipers back on her shelf, right next to the broken pieces of Jayne's old mug.  
  


* * *

  
Jayne was sitting at the kitchen table with Kaylee and Zoe, picking morosely at his breakfast, when River danced in and put the brightly wrapped package down in front of him.  
  
"What's this?" he asked.  
  
"A present. Open it."  
  
He unwrapped the mug and looked at it a moment in confusion.  
  
"She heard you lost the perfect coffee mug, so she made you one better. And look:" she threw the mug against the wall as hard as she could, just barely missing Jayne's nose, watched as it bounced around the room several times, then caught it just as it was about to slam into his forehead. "Unbreakable!" she said with a smile.  
  
Apparently just _mentioning_ his lost mug was enough to throw Jayne back into the previous day's black mood. "Lotsa unbreakable mugs in the world. None of 'em are _my_ mug, and most of the others aren't being thrown at my head by some gorram crazy - "  
  
Whatever Jayne had been about to say was cut off when Zoe punched him in the jaw. "Now Jayne, I want you to think real careful about what you do next. This young lady has made you a damn fine mug, and you are going to sit there, accept it gracefully, and drink a cup of coffee with us. Or else I'm sending you out for a walk in the Black."  
  
Jayne's mouth started moving, but no words were coming out yet. Before he could find his voice, Kaylee piped up: "Or even worse: I'll write to your ma." Jayne couldn't have looked more surprised if she'd dumped a bucket of cold water over his head. "You wouldn't dare."  
  
"I should be writing to her anyway - your ma likes me," Kaylee said with a grin, taking the mug from River, filling it, and putting it on the table in front of Jayne.  
  
Jayne reached out for the cup, tentatively, as if he was afraid it was going to bite him, conscious the whole time that River was watching him with that eerie, mantis-like stare of hers. He wrapped his hand around the handle, picked up the mug, and took a sip. Damn it, she was right - this _was_ a better mug than his old one. How had this crazy girl managed to make a mug that fit him perfectly?  
  
Zoe cleared her throat. "Aren't you supposed to say something right about now? Or should I get Kaylee a pen and some paper?"  
  
"Oh, um, thank you, River - that is a right fine mug. But I need you to promise me two things."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
Jayne had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes when he said: "Well, that you won't throw it at me again, for one thing. And that you'll stop letting your brother make the coffee - this cup's too fine to be drinkin' this _xiong mao niao_  from."  
  
They were all still laughing when Simon walked in.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for LJ-user curi_o's 21st birthday challenge: Prompt: #19 - break/make/take
> 
> Xiong mao niao = Panda urine.
> 
> Obligatory Ceramics Geek Note: Yes, I'm aware you can't fire ceramics in an autoclave. I'm making the assumption that you can use a Firefly-era autoclave to fire engine-repair mud, because that's what needs to be done for this story to work. :-P


End file.
